In a mere three games, the Arizona State quarterback has reinvented himself. He was called many things when he was named the starter in August - question mark, stopgap, curiosity - but never the title he earned after ASU's 37-7 domination of Utah Saturday: a threat.

That's right. Taylor Kelly is now one of the Sun Devils' best offensive weapons, and that's a heck of a story line when you consider where Kelly was four months ago. ASU's coaching staff has put him in a position to succeed by shaping an offense that plays to his strengths of quickness, game management and improved accuracy. Kelly has capitalized on the opportunity.

"I know in this business coaches can get swallowed up in reports, and it's all about calling plays," Sun Devils coach Todd Graham said. "But it's not true. You have to have a system designed around the skills and talents of your players."

Some interesting things happened behind the scenes during the past few months. Kelly forged strong connections with ASU's receivers during the extra summer work he put in to improve his skills. And as soon as he was named the starter, players rallied around him.

It was a seminal time for the sophomore who had the talent but not always the slam-dunk confidence needed to run a major-college offense.

He's not a look-at-me, chest-thumping kind of guy. Even after Saturday's victory at Sun Devil Stadium, he quietly entered the press room and took his seat in front of the microphone. He cordially answered questions, but his answers and demeanor were very much like they are on the field.

Efficient. Controlled.

"He always had that (talent) in him," receiver Rashad Ross said. "I knew Taylor as a third-string quarterback, and he was always a competitor. He can play, but what he did was make the best out of his opportunities.

"We trust him. We give him 100 percent support."

Kelly completed 19 of 26 passes for 326 yards and three touchdowns against the Utes. He threw no interceptions and used his quickness to extend plays and add dimension to the offense.

He is helping to make ASU a presence in the Pac-12 South. The season is young, but the division is cloudier than expected. For now at least, the Sun Devils will sit atop the South standings with Colorado.

It is an impressive place to be one-third of the way through the season when you consider the Sun Devils came into their 2012 campaign as one of just 13 FBS schools that returned no quarterbacks with a start. It's why ASU was picked to finish fifth out of six South division teams in a preseason conference poll.

Kelly didn't let his status of third-string quarterback in the spring define him. He studied tape. He worked with his receivers. He tapped into the talents that made him the top high school quarterback in Idaho in 2009: an ability to check down and read defenses that was superior to his peers.

He came into this game as the second-most-efficient quarterback in the Pac-12 with a 168.5 efficiency rating.

He benefits from a coaching staff that let his best skills shine.

"That's the whole idea of this," Graham said. "I've hired a lot of high school coaches. I spent a decade coaching HS football. (There) you don't recruit. You coach the guys you got."

"It's just their scheme," he said. "They have an excellent scheme, a lot of misdirection, bootleg play action.

"Both quarterbacks ... are good players, but their scheme is outstanding as far as the crossing routes, the flat routes. They run the ball and suck the defense and linebackers up, they run the secondary off, then hit those intermediate layered crossing routes and the flat routes. I don't know what their completion percentage was tonight, but probably 75 percent."

Try 79 percent.

Michael Eubank also played a bit, completing 3 of 5 passes for 48 yards, and continues to have a role in this offense, mostly as the Sun Devils close in on the goal line. But there is no reason to believe he will supplant Kelly in the immediate future, which often was the thought among fans, although to be clear, never suggested by ASU.

The redshirt freshman could very well still have a bright future here, but it may not be as immediate as some believe.

Credit a coaching staff with a game plan that helps their players succeed. And credit a quarterback who has made the most of an opportunity.

Reach Boivin at paola.boivin@arizonarepublic.com and follow her on Twitter at Twitter.com/PaolaBoivin. Listen to her on "Big Guy on Sports" every Monday at 12:30 p.m. on XTRA Sports 910.

Enter to win 4 tickets to ASU home games and be a part of azcentral sports fan row! Get invited to come down to the field! 3 winners get 4 tickets each to EVERY home game! Enter to win today at azcsportsfanrow.azcentral.com.